


Day One Hundred Sixty-Seven || Explore

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [167]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Character Death, F/M, Gen, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 11:40:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19250470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: When her mother's health necessitates moving to the countryside, Hinata gradually builds the courage to explore the old forest behind their house. But these are no ordinary woods...





	Day One Hundred Sixty-Seven || Explore

It was a strange old house. Nothing like the one they left behind in the city. That one had been sleek, modern...if not small, with hardly any yard. But their new home - back in the country, in the foothills of a small mountain - was...well, huge. Old. And old fashioned, too. Complete with engawa, fusuma, tatami floors...and old house smell. Not mold, of course. Just...aged wood and paper. And the yard...the yard was huge! With few houses in the countryside, there wasn’t even a fence - just openness out into fields and the nearby woods.

And at first, Hinata didn’t understand the reason they left the city for the country. Hiashi had told her it was because her mother - pregnant with her second child - needed some fresh air, and peace and quiet. Which, young Hinata supposed, made sense. Having a baby was a pretty big deal! Everyone was excited for it: her mother, her father, and of course herself. Finally she would have a little sibling to play with!

...if only she knew what she would lose in the process.

Her mother, a soft and kind soul, took to their new home well. Enjoying the sun and breezes, she would often sit on the front deck, dozing in the morning light. Hinata would always join her, leaned against her side.

“Soon, Hinata...a new life will bloom. Time will move forward. We will grow...and we will wither. Be sure to give this new blossom all of your love to help it thrive.”

“H...hai!”

The day came in late March, Winter still firmly gripping their province. Left at home with a neighbor, Hinata watched her father’s car pull away in the snow toward the local hospital.

Two people left...and a week later, two people came home.

The day prior, the phone had rung. Their neighbor’s face was strained, and somber. “...I see. No, I understand. I’ll leave such matters to you. Please, travel safely.”

When Hiashi walked in, a small bundle in his arms, Hinata ran to meet him. He walked past her, avoiding her eyes. Looking to the door, she waited for her mother.

And waited.

...and waited…

But she never came.

The baby was a girl. Hanabi, her name. And as her mother gave her life, so did she take life away.

One flower blossomed...and another withered away.

It took time to comprehend. Death was yet a foreign concept to one so young, not even yet five years old. But in time, she knew: her mother was not coming back. She had gone to a place Hinata could not yet follow. Not until it was her own time.

The old house grew quiet. Heavy. Still. Even the coming of Spring felt muted. Without her mother’s light, the colors felt faint. The breeze not so sweet. The warmth still tinged with an edge of cold.

...but...she did as her mother asked. Gave the new life the love she could. She didn’t yet make the connection - didn’t yet know that Hanabi’s life cost her their mother’s.

Only Hiashi knew...and he wasn’t telling.

Time, however, went ever marching forward. It bowed to no whim, not even grieving family. Soon Hinata was enrolled in the local school. Despite her mother’s loss, they remained in the big old house. Whether it was money, apathy, or something else, she didn’t know...but in reality, Hinata didn’t mind. This was home now. Even without her mother.

And as she got older, and bolder...she started, at last, to explore around their home. Hiashi, at first, had warned her not to wander. But his own melancholy meant a lighter regard for his eldest’s actions. And as she took to going further and further from home...he couldn’t bring himself to notice.

The field wasn’t of much interest. The rolling grass could hide many things, but most would scatter long before Hinata could so much as see them. A small creek ran along the front of the house, where tadpoles hid in pockets of slow water, little fish like silver streaks in the sunlight. Hinata could crouch at its edge for hours, watching water striders and crawfish go about their business. Even toads would amble about in the mud from time to time.

But what most held Hinata’s curiosity...was the wood behind the house. It stretched back for miles, up over the hills and toward the mountain that watched over their house.

At first, even her newfound bravery wasn’t enough to get her to step beneath the arching boughs of the trees. Shadows filled the nooks and crannies. And while the grass could hide little critters...the big trunks, rocks, and branches could be concealing any manner of creature…!

But now? Now, Hinata is twelve years old, nearly thirteen. She’s not the timid little kid she was before. And as the rift between herself and her family threatens to widen - Hiashi favoring his younger daughter, and Hanabi soaking up the attention like a sponge - Hinata finds herself...alone.

Staring with pale eyes into the wood, a pack on her shoulders with a bento for her hike...she takes her first steps into the treeline.

Almost immediately, the Summer air cools in the shade of the boughs. The sound of rustling leaves creates a quiet ambience, along with cicada calls and other gentle noises of the forest.

It feels so...peaceful here.

Continuing along a barely-hinted path, Hinata simply takes in the sights. True, there’s not much in the way of sightseeing: it’s mostly just trees, trees, and more trees. But then something catches her eye.

Along a deep divot in a large, old tree...a little shrine has been erected. A crooked tiny torī gate sits over a tiny jinja, an offering plate mostly bare...save for several pristine black feathers.

Hinata stares. Her family has never been overtly religious. They’ll visit a shrine on New Year’s, but...nothing more, save for funerals or weddings. But she has an overwhelming urge to leave something.

Taking her pack from her shoulders, Hinata digs out her bento. It’s not pretty: she was in a hurry to get out of the house this morning. Looking over her meager meal, she plucks a round red fruit from the corner, laying it on the dish before clapping her hands with a little bow. Once that’s done, she packs up her box and starts to move down the path.

But the soft whisper of feathers makes her pause...and look back.

...nothing.

...but, wait…

Her tomato is gone!

She stiffens, jogging back. Did a bird swoop down and steal it? How rude! Checking around the little shrine, she doesn’t see it: it didn’t fall...it must have been swiped.

“It’s been a while since someone left something here.”

Gasping, she stumbles back a few steps before collapsing to her backside. Looking up into the tree, she spots - perched on a branch - a boy in old clothes like she’s seen in her history books. But...another few moments of staring let her notice the dark, silky wings folded at his sides. 

“You’re...y-you’re a…!”

“Tengu.” With that, he takes a sharp bite...out of her tomato!

“H-hey!”

“What?” 

“That’s for the kami!”

The boy narrows his eyes with a pout. “And what do I look like to you?”

“I...I-I thought tengu were...yōkai…?”

He scoffs, taking another bite. “Shows what you know.” Chewing, he then explains, “We're the guardians of the mountain. And that includes here, too. So, the shrine’s ours. As it happens, I love tomatoes, so...I took it. As I should.”

Hinata just...blinks. In all reality, she never thought such a being was real, let alone that she could argue its category with it. Shifting to sit a bit more comfortably, she asks, “...so...you’re really not h-human…?”

After a pause, he flares his wings. “Do these look like something a human would have?”

“N...no…”

“So...no. I’m not human. I told you, I’m a tengu!”

“Can you fly…?”

“Of  _ course _ I can fly!” Standing, he chucks the tomato stem into the foliage. With a flap, he glides down to the path in front of her. “See?”

The girl brightens with wonder. “That’s...amazing…!”

Ego clearly stoked, the boy gives another scoff...and a smile off to one side. “I’m a son of the clan head! He watches over this whole forest...and someday, my brother and I will, too!”

“You have a brother?”

“Mhm, he’s older than me...but I’m faster!”

“I-I have a little sister. She’s louder than me…”

“And you’re braver! I’ve seen you exploring around the woods...your sister never leaves that house!”

Hinata gives a soft laugh. “She doesn’t like outside...there’s dirt, and bugs.”

“Well of course there is! It’s outside!” As though floating, he lifts, folding his arms and legs before settling on the grass. “So...what are you doing in here, human? No one like you comes here anymore…”

“I guess I was just...curious. And I like being outside...away from the house.”

The tengu’s head tilts. “You don’t like your home…?”

“It’s...c-complicated. And...I’m not just human, ne? My name’s Hinata.”

“And I’m Sasuke!”

“Are there...more spirits in these woods?”

“Mhm. There’s not many humans, so we thrive here! My father was worried when you humans came to that house, but...none of you have bothered us.”

“E-except me…”

Sasuke considers her. “...well, you seem nice for a human. You even left a gift at the shrine. No one does that anymore…”

“I t-thought it would be polite.”

“Will you...come back?”

Hinata’s head tilts. “...I guess so. It’s a bit late, now...I should probably go home.”

“Already?”

“I don’t want my f-father to scold me.”

“Oh...okay.” With that, he leaps to his feet with a small flurry of air. “I’ll go with you. Make sure you don’t get lost.” Sasuke then offers a hand.

“...oh! T...thank you.” Letting him lift her, for a moment, Hinata feels light as a feather, floating as he did until touching the ground.

“Next time you come, I’ll show you more of the forest, okay? There’s even a river with a spirit in it, too!”

“Really…?”

“Yeah! She’s really nice, and kinda young...she formed from melting snow from the mountain when it took a new path, so...it formed a new river! And every river needs a spirit. And you can meet my brother, too! And maybe my cousins - I have lots!”

Brightening, Hinata gives a smile. “I...I would like that!”

The pair make their way back to the entrance of the path, overlooking the field as afternoon starts to fade into evening. “Well...here we are.”

“Thank you for t-taking me back.”

Sasuke nods...and then jolts with an idea. “Oh, wait!” Flaring a wing, he carefully plucks a feather. “Here...take this with you.”

Eyes wide, Hinata gently cradles it in her palm. “...but…?”

“If you let the wind take it, it’ll lead you back to the shrine, so I can find you again!”

Realizing what a gift this is, Hinata gives a little bow. “Thank you v-very much!”

“Sure! But you better get home, huh?”

“Yeah…”

“Can you...come back tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I can! But pretty soon, I’ll have school.”

“School…?”

“Where I go to learn things!”

“Oh…” Sasuke’s head tilts. “Strange…”

That earns a soft giggle. “G-goodbye, Sasuke-kun!”

“See you tomorrow!” The little tengu waves as she jogs back down the field toward the house. Then, with a whisper of feathers, he disappears.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is kinda random, but...I like it! I always like the idea of Japanese mythology being "real", so...hence doing so every so often with these prompts. This was based a LITTLE bit on My Neighbor Totoro! Only...I guess it's My Neighbor Sasuke, lol
> 
> Anyway, I'm...very tired. Strange day, and it ended on a rather sour note, so...I'm gonna go try to sleep it off~ Thanks for reading!


End file.
